When the weather is wet sometimes you just want to stay indoors but still need to entertain children. Here are some of the things we got up to indoors over the summer holidays whilst keeping dry.

Playing with Toys

The boys had plenty of time to just play. A lot of it was with LEGO but It was nice to see all four of them come together to play with Qixels Turbo Dryer. This is simply pixel blocks which you put together in the design of your choice, get wet and then spin dry into the shape. No glue, no mess! After all the boys wanting the same colours my oldest discovered that you can simply use the white ones and colour them in. He is off to University soon and his younger siblings will miss him terribly so it was nice to see these quality moments. Qixels Turbo Dryer does come with templates but my oldest explain to me all about how the Qixels were like some of their favourite computer games and he was able to design his own favourite characters! I do also remember him saying something about the new Mario Maker out on the 11th September and how because they were pixels it was a lot like that.

Computer Games

The biggest difference about these holidays is how much I have let them play computer games. They are not all bad and the boys work hard and so I let them have a break and play. The rule in this house is normally only after 11am at weekends and holidays – but not all day. Most days we started the day with swimming as my youngest had 4 weeks of crash courses. His swimming ability has come on remarkably and he has tried so very hard. We also have done a fair bit out of the house so when indoors I was a lot more relaxed about them playing. They also had the opportunity to go and play the new Disney Infinity 3.0 before its release. In fact it was my youngest’s love of LEGO Jurassic World that promoted us to watch the films – where I was amazed at how much he had picked up from the game. It is on this basis that we bought him LEGO Harry Potter as the films got too old for him.

Attractions

Obviously you can visit indoor attractions. We went to the National Space Centre – which I felt was great for such a wide range of ages and I was delighted to see my youngest’s knowledge of space. They had LEGO for the boys to make a space craft whilst their dad read up on all the facts. Then they got to make their own LEGO Space animation. The LEGO City Space Summer runs until 6th September 2015. There was plenty to interact with, puzzles to solve facts, illuminations, rockets, dressing up, planetarium shows, rides, and picture opportunities. It was a great educational experience.

We went to the theatre and watched The Basil Brush Show. Again great entertainment spanning a variety of ages. With many jokes that may have gone over the heads of children – very visually pleasing and fantastic audience participation (well the water guns may have helped with that!). Basil Brush is cheeky, naughty but also charming, kind, caring and affectionate. When his show is cancelled by a jealous evil fox it does not stop Basil and sidekick Mr Stephen (Chris Pizzey) and they make their own show. It was just like a panto with baddies to boo, children up on stage and looking for ghosts (he’s behind you!). The boys were pleased that there was also a photo opportunity after the show. The Full on Fox Tour 2015 runs until November 22nd 2015 travelling to various locations.

Star Wars at MadameTussauds – the famous Wax works have done it again this time with some great figures for you to pose next too in anticipation for the new Star Wars movie. See my Star Wars Wax works photos on my Facebook page.

Movies

Of course there’s films and what a great year for them. We saw Inside Out early before the holidays and then we went to see Ant Man. But we have also watched a lot of films at home. The new Cinderella was a must and I cannot believe that my boys did not know the story already! Of course we loved Frozen Fever too. We did a Harry Potter marathon, watched all the Jurassic Parks and now need to find all the Star Wars films for the boys to watch. I think it is best that they watch them in the proper order.

Reading

We did some reading – the boys were treated to magazines and my 7 year old enjoyed reading Disney Descendants:The Isle of the Lost (Melissa De La Cruz sent by Parragon Books Ltd). In fact it was good that he had just learnt the story of Cinderella as he could recognise the characters coming up in this book. He told me that they weren’t called by name but he knew from the description. I like how it is an “adult sized” book that is suitable for my son of almost 8. He is an advanced reader (about aged 11) but obviously is not ready for the kind of content that may be ok for a 7 year old. He has enjoyed being able to bookmark chapters and feel grown up rather than reading the book as a whole. The story is about the evil villains being banished to the Lost of Isle, stripped of their magic and trying to make their escape. A book with a good moral message.

Have a Party at Home

We had a couple of parties at home. We had a Plasticine Softeez Twitter Party and a LEGO Pirate Party. I have already blogged about the LEGO party but for those who missed the Plasticine Softeez Twitter party we used a number of Plasticine Softeez products to throw a party. Plasticine Softeez is like normal Plasticine in that it never dries out but is great for modelling with – but is slightly softer making it easier for a younger user. We had a challenge with Under the Sea kits to make the best fish and creatures found under the sea, we designed and created Cupcake Creations, there was a timed activity to see who could make the longest Plasticine Softeez Snake, colouring in and free play.

sadly there have been quite a few wet days to fill haven’t there? still it looks as though you have done a lot of great things with your boys. we introduced our two to the Star wars films this summer – they are now fans! and jenson loved the new Cinderella film and i think Home was there favourite though. we did go to softplay 3 times but i hate it on wet days and they were last resort so the boys would burn off some steam! they also did lots of Lego playing and drawing. ]i am so sad its almost all over to be honest xx

Lovely ideas! Love the Qixels product. May have to pop it on the xmas list for little one. In regards to books, get him to check out the Alex Ryder series. Perfect for younger readers with a high reading age!

I like the look of qixels, I bet my kids would like that. We’ve been doing some baking and playing with lego. We’ve also had a big toy sort out which turned into an all day activity! Oh, and the kids have discovered monopoly…the game that goes on forever!

I think we’ve done everything on your list except for the Mario quixels – and I know if my boys saw them they would love them as we are all about Mario in the house at the moment. Whilst it’s wet my boys are obsessed with trying to get out and get wetter – they’ve been on the trampoline in the rain causing havoc!

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